I’ve been studying Ruth in BSF, a book that I haven’t really studied in depth before. BSF lessons, coupled with online sermons from Chris Chia & John Stott, really taught me a lot… and I’m only at Ruth 1! Waiting in anticipation for what God wants me to learn from the next the 3 chapters :)
On a more serious note however, there is a lesson from Ruth 1 that spoke to me more directly.
On a more serious note however, there is a lesson from Ruth 1 that spoke to me more directly.
[20] She said to them, (the whole town) “Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. [21] I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back me empty. Why call me Naomi, when the LORD has testified against me and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?
Ruth 1:20,21 (ESV)
Firstly, something positive about Naomi— despite all that negativity she voiced out, she still recognized the sovereignty of God and addressed Him as Shaddai or Almighty. Tough times or good, let us never forget that God is GOD. He is worthy of ALL worship and forever sovereign. It’s HIS will that matters, and He’ll see to it that things go HIS way.
Back to Naomi… no doubt about it, her life in Moab was terrible, hopeless, a dead end. She lost her husband and 2 sons. All she had left were 2 daughters-in-law. What happened was tragic to say the least and yes, she needed her space to mourn for the death of her beloved. But when she was back in Israel, back to her God Yahweh, her eyes weren’t focused at what lay ahead. She was still pre-occupied with what she lost. A new hope (pardon the borrowed term from Star Wars :p) was set before her by God’s grace and instead of looking to see what God had in plan for her, she moped about what God took away.
And that was when I sat up and took notice. We’ve all dealt with loss before—in all its forms. And one thing’s for sure, its never easy. But Naomi’s attitude was based on self-centeredness instead of being grounded in godliness. The question of the moment: Was/Am I having this same attitude?
When God deals us a “bad hand”, do we mope and cry foul? Do we refuse to lift our eyes from the temporal because we want to wallow in our own filth and self-pity? Do we still look within instead of looking up to heaven, to eternity, to the gospel? Haven’t we learnt that it’s all grace? God disciplines because He loves (Heb 12:6), He judges to save us from condemnation (1 Cor 11:32). All is due to His unending grace.
Life is about learning. Change isn’t automatic for we’re still sinners. However, even as we grow a little older every year, let us learn to grow in wisdom too. Wisdom to know that the past is to mould, the present is to apply and the future is to hope.
4 comments:
heh i recently read Ruth again after Gerald mentioned that you were studying it in BSF.. i do like the book of Ruth, (partly 'cos it's one of the few books with a female protagonist ;), but mainly because of how clear the Lord's hand in this love story!! Never really focused on Naomi's response to tragedy before, but isn't it wonderful how at the end of the book, the Lord had returned her what she had lost? :)
Well, lessons from Naomi is only one of the many lessons I've learnt from this short book :) It does seem to have a fairy-tale kinda ending where everyone lives happily ever after ya? heh... but well, redemption is the greatest ending (or beginning, depending on how you look at it) in anyone's life :)
I have no doubt about the main point of Ruth and yes, that main theme is about God's sovereignty and providence. However, I also believe that when one reads the same portions of the Bible at different times, the Holy Spirit does convict him/her of certain lessons that he/she might need more at that particular period of time. This isn't saying that you just take what you need from a Bible passage, for that's self-centeredness, but rather, its about picking up the various bits and pieces, at different times, from the richness of the Bible. Also, I chose not to magnify the main point of Ruth in this blog but rather, a sub-point that I've personally found meaningful :)
Yes, I picked up Chris Chia's sermon on my own. I visit All Souls, Desiring God and ARPC's online sermons fairly often.
Glad that you understand the geist of Ruth here =)
Apparently there are other BSF groups that teach Ruth purely from a character study basis as far as I can tell... =\
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